Решение:
Используем 'was' для единственного числа и 'were' для множественного числа.
- There were small shops there. ('shops' - множественное число).
- There was a train station there. ('a train station' - единственное число).
- There was a police station there. ('a police station' - единственное число).
- There were small houses there. ('houses' - множественное число).
- There was a circus there. ('a circus' - единственное число).
Ответ: 1. were, 2. was, 3. was, 4. were, 5. was.